Delta Queen to stop in Evansville on Thursday

The first "big boat" to lash up at the new municipal dock and bring business to Evansville will arrive early Thursday.

Arrival of the Delta Queen, with about 150 passengers, is expected between 7 and 8 a.m. It will tie up alongside LST 325.

It will be the first Delta Queen visit to Evansville in several years, according to the Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Marking the occasion, the bureau will distribute gift bags, an Evansville visitor guide and a memento of the city to each passenger.

Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel is scheduled to welcome the visitors at 11:45 a.m. Some passengers are expected to tour the LST, while others will visit other Evansville attractions. The Queen will depart the local dock at 1 p.m.

Laura Libs, spokeswoman for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said local residents are invited to welcome or wave goodbye to the excursion boat's passengers and crew.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans-based Natchez became the first big steamer to tie up at the municipal dock. It first arrived in a late-October trial run, then returned Nov. 7 to draw local patrons for three cruises - part of a tour that offered Big Easy cuisine and culture in stops at various cities along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.